A guy in the city

Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn has been in Manchester for a few years now serving up dirty and delicious Mexican and American food and drink. Placed prominently in the Northern Quarter, it’s frequently popular and of course fits in with the area’s aesthetic.

Last Friday we had a couple of friends coming up and they wanted to go somewhere that was a bit different and since we hadn’t been to Liquor and Burn in a while we thought that would be the best idea. The place has very recently had a refit though this appears to have been entirely located in the downstairs bar area than in the upstairs restaurant.

The door has been relocated and the bar area is now better laid out, with more tables and room for people to drink and eat, choosing from the slightly reduced bar menu compared to the food on offer upstairs.

I arrived before the others and went to get a table. I was told the wait was 30 to 40 minutes; fairly long but not unexpected as it was a Friday evening and much better than the hour wait that you can find on Saturday nights and at other places. I took a seat downstairs and waited for the others to arrive. Around 15/20 minutes later they arrived, luckily at the same time that I got a text telling me that our table was ready, much sooner than expected.

We headed upstairs and were escorted to our table. The decor for the restaurant is best described as busy and the lights were a bit dim, more suited for a bar than somewhere that you’re going to spend the next hour or so eating in. It was quite busy but the noise level wasn’t obtrusive and the tables are placed well so that you don’t feel crowded by the other diners.

Our waitress was attentive and friendly. I ordered the Candy Apple Manhattan. It had a good fruity apple taste without being too bitter.

Candy Apple Manhattan complete with apple slice

It was £7 which you always feel is a little much when it’s something served in the size of a Manhattan glass but the price is very much on par with the city cocktail prices.

The menu in Liquor and Burn is quite extensive. With starters, tacos, burgers, salads, steaks, burritos, ‘Extremos food dreamos’ and five types of fries, you really do have a lot to pick from. I always go for the same starter. I had it the first time I came several years ago and I have it every time I go because it’s so good. The Chicken Blasts are boneless crispy chicken with a choice of Hawaiian BBQ sauce or Buffalo sauce and served with celery sticks and blue cheese sauce to calm the heat from the sauces. This is always delicious. Moist chicken with a crispy coating in lovely sauce. It’s one of my favourite dishes in Manchester. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

On to the mains. I’ve tried a few things before. The tacos are lovely; they are soft shell and you get a couple of them (it used to be three but I think it might now be two bigger ones) but they aren’t very big. I wasn’t up to the large dishes and didn’t feel like having steak. I’ve never had the burgers. I’m sure they are good, Liquor and Burn is part of the Almost Famous family, but they tend to be quite expensive, hovering around £10, and I’d rather have something more in the restaurant’s style if I’m at Liquor and Burn. This leaves us with the burritos. I’ve had the Chicken Licken burritos quite a few times and they are always good but I wanted something slightly different. I settled on the F-Bomb; ‘half crispy beef, beef chilli, chorizo, chillies, cheese, BOSS sauce, spiced fries HALF dirty chicken, cooling ranch, cheese, rice, lime, iceberg lettuce, pico‘. I also went for a side of Bacon Cheeseburger fries.

The burrito was really great. Forget the limp and thin excuses for a burrito that you get at Taco Bell, these are stuffed to bursting with fresh ingredients. The beef half was a bit spicy for me, when I took the first bite I thought I’d made a huge mistake, but I powered on through because it tasted so good. The other half is quite similar to the Chicken Licken which is always great and helped to soften the burn in my mouth. The fries were stacked with toppings.

The Cheeseburger fries and F-Bomb burrito

Liquor and Burn do a mixture of potato and sweet potato in their fries. They are coated in a herb and spice mixture that gives them a good taste. They were were smothered in a liquid burger cheese sauce which has the slight taste of a cheeseburger processed cheese but was also mixed with some jalapeno mustard which give it all a nice tang. I finished off the lot and was left stuffed but happy.

Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn does filling and tasty food for a reasonable price for the area. It’s always a meal option in my mind and I would definitely recommend it. Be prepared for a wait if you are going on weekend evenings but you’d have to be prepared for that in most of Manchester. Have the Chicken Blasts. Trust me.

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